STRANGERS
by AmyFawkes
Summary: Mukuro Rokudo, known as a criminal to the mafia world, has been falsely accused of a murder. Detective Naoto Shirogane has come to Kokuyou and the neighboring town Namimori to investigate the case, and he finds that he must work with a boy named Tsuna Sawada to prove Mukuro's innocence. Although, the mystery delves much deeper than Naoto imagined.
1. The Murder

**Authour's Note:** This is going to be a collaboration fanfiction between me and my sister, **jedexa**. The chapters will alternate between us. This story is a crossover between the KHR world and the Persona world, taking place shortly after the Inheritance Ceremony arc in KHR, but before Chrome transfers out of Kokuyou. We hope you enjoy the read!**  
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**chapter o n e: THE MURDER**

"This morning, a man was found dead just outside of the abandoned amusement park Kokuyou Health Land. Autopsies have revealed that the victim was stabbed by a strange three-pronged weapon, presumably a pitchfork. The victim's name is Ambrogio di Estraneo."

"Geez, that's scary…" The brunette muttered quietly, stuffing another spoonful of scrambled eggs in his mouth. He furrowed his eyebrows, concerned brown orbs fixed upon the TV screen. "Reborn, I'm kinda worried…"

"Why?" The small child in a suit responded, dashing across the table and snatching up the teenager's plate of food. "It's not like they're going to come kill you, dame-Tsuna. They're from Kokuyou, which is somewhat far from here in Namimori." Tilting his head backwards, he practically poured the rest of the brunette's eggs into his mouth.

"G-gahh! R-Reborn! That was my breakfast!" The boy named Tsuna wailed in despair. He hung his head in defeat before shaking it off. His efforts were useless—his eggs were good and gone into the baby's stomach. "I mean, that's the thing. It is Kokuyou… what if Chrome and Mukuro are in danger? Or worse… what if they…" The words caught in his throat. Tsuna couldn't finish his sentence as the news report on the TV interrupted him, finishing the thought he hoped never to hear.

"The suspect is a man named Mukuro Rokudo. Witnesses say he is about 180 centimeters tall, is Italian, and has dark blue hair. If anyone has information of his location and whereabouts, please contact the number on your screen."

Tsuna clicked the TV off. Sitting there in disbelief, he continued to stare at the blank black screen of the electronic device, listening to nothing but silence. "I… what… Mukuro… killed somebody?"

"It's not unexpected," the baby hitman replied. "He's killed countless mafia men. There's no doubt that he would kill someone of the Estraneo."

"But… the Estraneo are a mafia too?" Tsuna shook his head, as if denying it.

"Yes. They're the family that made the forbidden possession bullet to start with, remember?" Reborn flicked Tsuna on his forehead, making the brunette flinch and throw his hand up to cover his forehead defensively. Reborn scoffed at how weak the boy was, proceeding to sit down where he stood and play with his curly sideburns.

"O-oh…" The brunette was dumbfounded. "Then… maybe… Mukuro might have… actually done it…" He looked horrified knowing that the possibility could be true.

"Exactly," Reborn sipped his espresso with a shrug.

Tsuna shook his head, standing up and dumping his plates in the sink. "I don't believe Mukuro would have actually done that. I mean, I know that he just got out of prison because of the whole thing with Daemon Spade but…"

Reborn shook his head. "He's a murderer, Tsuna. And you know this."

"Well, I don't know! He wouldn't be so painfully obvious about it, would he? And anyway, so soon after getting out of prison?" The teenager argued profusely.

"Who knows? Anyway, it shouldn't concern you. So what if he killed another guy? This is probably a normal thing for him." The baby muttered, becoming frustrated with Tsuna's arguments. "Murder happens all the time in the mafia. It probably was him, you know."

"Can't I believe that there's still some good in him?" The boss frowned, sighing heavily and turning to leave for school.

Quickening his pace, he sighed inwardly. Maybe I really should just drop it. It's best not to get involved with that guy anyway.

"Boss," a quiet and soft voice spoke up. The brunette looked up, stopping himself just inches away from crashing into the girl in front of him. She stared with one owlish eye, though made no comment on his clumsiness as he scratched the nape of his neck.

"Chrome!" Tsuna exclaimed, both stunned and delighted to see the one-eyed girl. "H-hi! What are you doing here in Namimori?" He asked with a shy smile.

Her eye flashed to the ground. "Boss, we need your help." She said, not looking up at the boy. "Mukuro-sama has been framed."

Tsuna was stunned. "W-what?"

"There was a murder outside of Kokuyou land, and—"

"The victim had the stab wound from a weapon like a pitchfork…" Tsuna muttered quietly. The other girl looked up with big eyes.

"Yes." She didn't question where he learned the information. "It wasn't Mukuro-sama. I know it wasn't."

"W-well, what do you want me to do about it?" Tsuna asked shamefully, finding himself of no use.

"I want you to protect him, Boss." She said deftly. "Please, I beg of you, don't let anyone falsely accuse him. It was not his fault!" The look in her violet eye was desperate.

Tsuna gave her a confident and comforting glance in return. "Don't worry, Chrome. I won't let anyone blame him for something he didn't do. I'll protect Mukuro."

Those were words he never imagined he would say.

What had he just gotten himself into…?


	2. The Detective Prince

A/N: Hi everyone, this is **Jedexa**, the co-writer of this fanfiction. I tend to ramble a lot more than **AmyFawkes**, just to let you know. Anyway, I know that a lot of our readers are probably of the KHR fandom, and probably have little to no knowledge of Persona, right? I hope it doesn't daunt you from reading STRANGERS though, and we'll do our best to write it in a way that you can still understand it without needing the knowledge of Persona 4! And for those of you who do know about the Persona fandom, you might notice I chose to write in a way that doesn't spoil Naoto's story in the game. We might get to it eventually here, though. Wow, see, I do ramble a lot more. Without further ado, please enjoy Chapter 2 of STRANGERS!

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**chapter t w o: THE DETECTIVE PRINCE**

Kokuyou was not the most saintly towns—crime didn't run rampant, but their local police station was poorly organized and understaffed, considering the amount of robberies and reports of battery that came in on a daily basis. Thus, when the Estraneo Murder case came in, most of the police officers were baffled about what to do, since despite all the common crimes in town, murder had never been one of them.

Six weeks into the case and they had no lead on where Mukuro Rokudo was. The people at his school said he often hung out at Kokuyou Health Land, but he had not been seen there since the murder. Wanted posters, TV ads, internet postings about his capture offered a not-so-grand reward, so no one was inclined to find him.

With the case going cold, the police department had no other choice but to call in outside help—and so, that is how Naoto Shirogane ended up taking over the investigation.

_They are a bunch of impudent fools,_ Naoto thought as he went over the autopsy reports. Something didn't seem quite right about them, and the crime scene evidence seemed a bit too hastily found. _Even if they found the evidence quickly, if Rokudo hung out at Kokuyou Land often, it could easily be a mistake..._

Mukuro Rokudo was a strange suspect, though—upon looking up his records, Naoto found that he didn't even exist until the recent years. No school records, no dental records, no birth certificates or even a passport on file. How did he manage to even get to Japan from Italy, anyway? If he is really Italian, that is.

Why would a man who didn't exist kill another man who had done nothing wrong? And in such a peculiar way. Who used a pitchfork nowadays, anyhow? What was the motive, to get attention?

Sighing, Naoto stood up from his desk, running his hand through his short blue hair as he grabbed his coat and his hat and put them on, heading out. He would need to gather more information if he was going to find Rokudo. Thus, his first stop—Kokuyou Junior High.

It was a school as run-down as the rest of the town. He asked the students about Rokudo, and found one obvious consistency: they were all afraid of that delinquent transfer student. Rokudo was violent—well, now it would make sense as to how he could kill a man, as it was apparent he had no qualms about it, from the way the students talked. The students also mentioned that he had two companions who still hung around the school, so Naoto went to find them.

Ken Joshima and Chikusa Kakimoto were hanging out in the student council room with a young girl in an eyepatch. They glared at the detective when he entered, gazing around slowly before he faced the trio.

"You ain't from our school." The blonde, Ken, sneered. The scar certainly made him seem more frightening, and Naoto couldn't help but wonder where he got it.

"I am not," Naoto replied smoothly, unfazed by his hostility, "I am Detective Naoto Shirogane. I am here to investigate the whereabouts of one Mukuro Rokudo. He is wanted for murder. I understand that you were his... friends?"

"Lookit the shorty, spouting big talk like he owns the place." Ken growled.

"We don't know where he is." Chikusa said just as coolly as Naoto's own tone, "And even if we did, we wouldn't tell you."

"So he truly does have something to hide." Naoto noted quietly, "Alright, then allow me some questions. Where were you on the evening of April 14th?"

"With Mukuro-san. We're always with Mukuro-san." Chikusa replied.

"I see. If that is the case, did you have anything to do with the murder of Ambrogio di Estraneo?"

"Hell no!" Ken snapped. "Didn't even know that bastard was still alive!"

Naoto blinked slowly. "Excuse me?" He looked alarmed, "You knew the victim?"

"He's the reason we—" Ken was cut off by Chikusa, who hit him over the head and hissed at him to shut up.

"What is your connection to the victim?" Naoto demanded, his eyes narrowed. They didn't answer. "If you fail to cooperate with a detective, I have the right to bring you into the station for further interrogation."

Again, no answer. Ken and Chikusa exchanged a glance. Ken was running his tongue over his teeth, and Chikusa took his hands out of his pockets, holding two red yoyos, seeming indifferent. Naoto frowned deeply, crossing his arms. He was about to speak again, but this time, the young girl spoke up.

"He didn't do it."

Naoto looked over at her. He didn't know who this girl was, but she was hanging out with these two delinquents... even though she looked too kind to be friends with them.

"None of them did. Mukuro-sama would have, if he knew that man was alive. But he didn't. He was framed." The girl said timidly, her purple eye averted down toward the desk.

"So you don't deny that he, along with these two, knew the victim and had the motive to kill him." Naoto focused on her. Did this girl have the same doubts as him? No, she seemed more sure... "What proof do you have that he was framed? Without anything to prove otherwise, Rokudo is the only obvious suspect in this case."

"I... I don't have any." The girl shook her head, "But I know Mukuro-sama didn't do it. He told me."

"...Who are you?" Naoto asked, "Why do you call Rokudo with such respect? Why do you trust his words over hard evidence?"

"M-my name is Chrome Dokuro." She answered after a short moment of thought, "Mukuro-sama... um..."

"Hey, ugly woman, stop talking," Ken barked, "Look, we don't hafta answer this detective snob."

Chikusa glanced at him, his gazeless eyes hinting at something dangerous. "Leave." As an afterthought, he glanced at the clock and added, "We have class now."

"...Very well. But I am not through with this interrogation. I shall return another time." Naoto said lowly, tipping his hat as he turned and left the room.

_What an odd group._ He decided, _They don't deny Rokudo has the means and motive to kill the man... but they claim he had nothing to do with this particular murder. Has he murdered others like Estraneo before?_

He stayed nearby the school, reading his case files and waiting until the end of the day. When Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome left the school, he saw Ken and Chikusa part ways with Chrome. What should he do? Follow the two boys, or follow Chrome...

Chrome seemed to have something to say about Rokudo—and she was much less hostile than Ken and Chikusa. Thus, Naoto decided to follow Chrome.

Chrome got on a bus not too far away from the school. Naoto saw the bus' destination, and took his own means of transportation so she wouldn't know he followed. About an hour later, Chrome got off at Namimori. How odd—did she live outside of Kokuyou?

Naoto's question was answered when he saw Chrome go up to a house that, judging by the nameplate, belonged to a friend of hers. A boy answered the door—he had wild brunette hair and big, round eyes. Chrome looked worried when she talked to him—Naoto hid behind the wall and vaguely heard snippets of their conversation.

_"Is he alright?"_

_"Um, yeah... Hey, are you okay? You look spooked."_

_"A detective came by today... he wanted to know where Mukuro-sama was. He was like the others... he thought Mukuro-sama was guilty. But... he was weird."_

_"Weird?"_

_"Young. And... something about him seemed off. I don't know what, though."_

This boy seemed to know Mukuro Rokudo as well. Perhaps he was worth questioning too.


	3. The Vongola Tenth

**chapter three: THE VONGOLA TENTH**

Dropping her voice to a whisper, Chrome leaned toward the brunette. "Is he home?"

Tsuna sighed, and said in an exasperated tone of voice, "Yes." Bronze irises flashed around the surrounding yard. He felt another presence. "Say, Chrome," he said in a normal volume, "Would you like to come inside? It's rude of me to let you stand out here."

Naoto watched as the girl nodded, stepping inside the house gratefully. The boy, however, looked around rather suspiciously before closing the door behind him.

The blue-haired detective raised an eyebrow. Not only did the brunette know Rokudo, he was also acting slightly suspicious, perhaps even a little bit guilty. He was definitely going to be questioned.

Tsuna sighed, leaning his body against the door. "Man... it's already been six weeks, and I thought for sure they've dropped the case by now!" He whined, trudging over to the couch and flopping over on it.

"Oh, relax Tsunayoshi. It isn't that bad living with me, is it?" A deep voice teased with a small laugh.

Tsuna groaned. Propping his head up on one of his palms, he faced the girl, whose eye was sparkling upon sight of the blue-haired man. "Chrome, how long do I have to keep him here? You said only for a little while back then!"

"Only as long as it takes for Mukuro-sama to be proven innocent." She said firmly, padding on over to the older man. Mukuro gave a generous laugh, patting the small girl's violet hair.

Tsuna groaned and buried his face in the couch pillow. "It'll take forever for Mukuro to be proven innocent! How innocent can he be? He's Mukuro Rokudo!"

"Hey, I'm still here." The man growled lowly. "I could very well just kill you right now. You're lucky I haven't tried to possess you, if only because you are assisting in defending me." The heterochromatic man sneered at the boss. Tsuna frowned in disapproval before sitting up straight in his seat.

"If you killed me, that wouldn't help with trying to prove that you _didn't_ murder someone!" He whined.

"I'm glad you're doing well here, Mukuro-sama. It appears you and boss have getting along fairly well." Chrome smiled generously, a pink coloring her cheeks.

"If him not hurting me or my family counts as 'getting along', then I would have to agree with you." Tsuna said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "But it sure doesn't help when Fuuta is scared out of his wits of you, Mukuro. He never comes out of his room as long as he knows you're here!"

"Not my fault." Mukuro said nonchalantly with a shrug.

"It totally is your fault!" Tsuna yelled in response. He let out a frustrated sigh—it was useless.

"How are Ken and Chikusa?" Mukuro asked the younger girl. "Has the doggie been missing me?"

Chrome giggled lightly. "They are fine. After all, they are rather used to you being gone, Mukuro-sama. They know you'll come back eventually. And yes, Ken misses you very much. He complains every night."

Mukuro smiled. "Give them my best regards. Hopefully it will all be over soon and I will not have to stake out at the young Vongola's house. Although, the food here is quite delicious." Tsuna groaned. It was like a living nightmare to him.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Tsuna screeched and jumped up in surprise. Mukuro's eyes darted to the door, and then to Tsuna. This appeared to be a normal thing, as Tsuna waved off Mukuro with the back of his hand, and Mukuro nodded in response, turning to swiftly make his way upstairs. Chrome, rather conflicted with where to go, stayed in the living room with Tsuna.

The brunette opened the door a crack. "H-hello?" he said timidly. He didn't recognize the blue-haired boy in front of him.

"Hello." The stranger tipped his hat rather formally. "I am Detective Naoto Shirogane."

Chrome gasped, peeking her head out slightly from behind Tsuna. "Y-you!" She said indignantly. "You followed me?" Her face was flushed red with anger. How could she have been so careless?

The boy blinked slowly. "Blatantly speaking, yes, but Namimori was the next stop in my investigations anyhow." He said tonelessly. He opened a manila folder that had been tucked under his arm, looking down at it. "There is a record of Rokudo's presence in Namimori. Did he not attack a number of students from Namimori Middle, not too long ago? I came to investigate all persons who might have a connection with Rokudo. I believe a student named Sawada Tsunayoshi was involved in these incidents?"

With wide eyes, Tsuna glanced at Chrome and back at the detective. Sighing, he slipped through the crack of the door to step outside and confront the detective. "Y-yes, he did." He admitted. "Uhm... well, I wouldn't say that I was involved in the incident, b-but a couple of my friends did get hurt during the incidents..." He mumbled.

"Yes, there are accounts of your visits to the hospital, and witness reports of another boy jumping in the way when you were... getting shot at..." Naoto frowned. This report wasn't very detailed. "But that is beyond the point. If you have some time, may we have a chat? About Mukuro Rokudo, of course."

Tsuna gulped nervously. There were witnesses to that event? He thought all the explosions and bombs had scared off any passer-bys, and nobody had watched the fight. He fidgeted nervously, pulling on the hem of his T-shirt. "U-uh... y-yeah, no problem! C-come on... in?" He stuttered, an octave higher than his normal voice. Coughing and shaking his head, he cracked the door open wider, inviting the detective inside. Chrome was right—there was something different about this guy for sure. With the other detectives, he didn't feel nearly as nervous. Then again, other detectives didn't even come to his house. He motioned for Naoto to sit down on the couch.

Naoto looked around. It looked like a fairly nice, normal house... it was kind of cozy, and very westernized... Nothing like the houses at Kokuyou. _Don't get distracted._ He reminded himself, and looked at Chrome. "I was hoping we could continue our conversation from earlier, as well."

Chrome coughed nervously, averting her eye to the side and nodding curtly. "Yes, that would be fine." She quietly cursed to herself about leading this strange man to her beloved Boss's house, especially since it was where Mukuro was being kept.

Tsuna glanced at Chrome, sitting down beside her and patting her on the back, only slightly awkwardly. "W-what do you want to talk about?" He mentally hit himself for asking such a stupid question.

"I am sure this is a redundant question, but for the formality of clarification," Naoto leaned back in his seat, "do you know a man named Mukuro Rokudo?"

"Um... kinda. Yeah." Tsuna answered, somewhat regrettably. "Why?" He squirmed uneasily.

"I'm sure you're well aware of the incident that occurred six weeks ago. A murder at an abandoned amusement park." Naoto said in a formal, business-like tone, "Evidence at the crime scene suggests that it was Mukuro Rokudo. However, Dokuro-san, among others, have said that the evidence was wrong." He eyed the purple-haired girl suspiciously, "Grant it, as I am viewing this case from another standpoint, I want to believe her. If it was the case that Rokudo's DNA and prints were on the scene simply because he lurks in the area often, then his companions' DNA and prints should be there as well. However, Ken Joshima and Chikusa Kakimoto's presences are absent from the scene, suggesting that Rokudo was either working alone, or there might be merit to your argument, Dokuro-san."

Chrome kept a firm eye on Naoto, as if to make sure he did not make any sudden movements, especially to where Mukuro was hiding. "Yes. If he were to murder someone, Ken and Chikusa would have been with him." She said.

Tsuna gave her an uncertain look, fidgeting. _Is it okay for her to be saying that? It's like she's practically admitting that Mukuro is a murderer!_ He sighed. "W-well... yeah, I know that Mukuro is a pretty scary guy. He probably would have killed somebody, but at the same time I don't think he would have left evidence out there for the media to see... and I doubt he would have let there be any witnesses too." He let his gaze wander to the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with the detective. "I don't like Mukuro all that much, but I don't think that he could have murdered that guy. He's... I dunno, he's just not like that." Tsuna shrugged. He was unsure if his vision of Mukuro was twisted. As he spoke, he wasn't quite sure if he was viewing Mukuro as he was instead of what Tsuna saw him as.

Naoto's eyebrows arched in surprise. "You both..." He didn't quite know how to react. After a moment, he composed himself, emotionlessness returning to his face. "I am not quite sure why you say he's innocent, when in the past he's harmed your friends and it is apparent that he has indeed murdered others before. But you are right—if he has murdered before, he certainly didn't make a show of it." He steeled his face, looking thoughtful. Trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for all of this was... confusing. "You seem to know him quite well. What can you tell me about his character? Who is he to you?"

"...Urk." Tsuna didn't know how to respond. "Well, I think he's innocent because I think he's changed since I first met him... he's been making an effort, I think. If not for me, for Chrome." He shrugged, motioning to the girl. She averted her eyes, a slight blush on her cheeks as she thought of it. "U-uhm... you'll... uh, have to be more... specific. I don't know how to describe him..." He was obviously making excuses, and he wasn't very good at covering it up. However, he honestly didn't know what to say. He scratched the nape of his neck with his finger.

"You're not very confident in your words." Naoto said, quirking an eyebrow. Then he looked over at Chrome. "What about you? I asked you before, but you didn't answer. Who is he to you?"

She took in a breath, glancing at Tsuna, as if for some comfort. She really wanted to leave the scene, but she knew that it would just be suspicious. "Mukuro-sama saved my life." She said simply, although quiet. A small smile adorned her face.

Naoto looked surprised once more. "...May I inquire how?" How could a murderer—and they had confirmed he was one—save anyone's life?

"He..." Her gaze wandered about, trying to find a way to describe it. She couldn't possibly say he donated an organ, or that he gave her a stomach. "Well, I had gotten into a car crash and he saved me. I lost my stomach, and he found a donor." Yes, that sounded believable. She smiled to herself, proud to tell the story and proud that she could come up with a convincing lie.

"I see." Naoto blinked slowly. He leaned forward, folding his hands together in front of him. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be taking up too much of your time, so allow me a few more questions. First off... do you know where Rokudo is? He is not in Kokuyou, so I believe he might have taken refuge somewhere here, in Namimori. It would make sense, if this place was familiar to him. Would you agree?"

Tsuna's eyes widened in shock and fear. Shaking his head rather frantically, he said, "N-no!" He almost shouted, but then stopped himself as he realized what he was doing. "I mean, no, as in I don't mind if you ask me a few more questions! Y-you may take your time here." He grinned sheepishly. He really needed to hit himself over the head. Good lord, he was just as bad at lying as Ryohei was.

_What a strange reaction. Too quick._ Naoto noted. _Is he hiding something?_

"No. Usually he is at Kokuyou with Ken and Chikusa, but he has not been around recently. I don't know if anyone would take him in here in Namimori, especially after what happened at the local middle school." Chrome answered monotonously. Tsuna wondered how she was such a smooth liar.

"Y-yeah... he's definitely really scary... especially if he was accused of murder, I don't think anyone would take him in." The brunette let out a breath. "I know I wouldn't... my little brother is really scared of him, anyway. They wouldn't be able to live together peacefully if he was here." Which wasn't a lie. They weren't able to live peacefully. Although, Tsuna hoped that his lying wasn't too obvious. It was mostly true, just not entirely.

Naoto's eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded and accepted the answer. He shifted his gaze from the other boy to the girl, asking his next question. "Curiously... Why did you come here today, Dokuro-san? Don't you live in Kokuyou as well?"

"Yes." She nodded. "But I came here to talk to B... T-Tsuna," the named rolled awkwardly off her tongue, "because another weird detective came to us to talk about how Mukuro-sama killed somebody, _which he didn't."_ She seemed to emphasize the last part, a slight glare shot toward Naoto before blinking twice and returning to her normal relaxed expression.

_Weird?_ Well, that certainly wasn't the first time he had been called that. "I'm sorry to have insinuated that someone close to you has murdered, but it is my job to uncover the truth—whether he is innocent or not."

"He's innocent." Chrome muttered under her breath, her eye aimed at the ground. A hand wandered over to tug on Tsuna's shirt, clutching it within her palm. Tsuna glanced her way, moving an inch closer to her.

Naoto stood, straight-backed as he put one hand to his hip, tipping his cap with the other. "Last question before I leave—if Rokudo truly is not the murderer... why do you suppose he's in hiding?" His pale blue eyes sparked with something like challenge. "If he has nothing to be guilty about, he should have no qualms about clearing his own name, don't you think?"

The two teenagers exchanged glances. Tsuna had no idea what to say.

"Police are scary." Chrome said quietly. "And he has murdered before... but that was a long time ago. I think Mukuro-sama is afraid that they will throw him in jail anyway."

"Yeah, he did just get out of jail too..." Tsuna's hand flew up to cover his mouth, wide-eyed before frantically stuttering. "I-I-I mean—!" He regretted what he said immediately.

Naoto's eyes narrowed. "...If he has murdered before, I would not be surprised at this factoid." His lips turned upward in the slightest, as if to be somewhat pleasant. "I must get back to the station now. If you hear from Rokudo, please contact me." He reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out two business cards for each of them.

Tsuna stood and took them rather cautiously, handing one to Chrome. "Um, thank you. A-and... s-s-sure." What a liar. "I... I'll show you out, I suppose." He tapped Chrome, who let go of his shirt, and led Naoto to the door, opening it. "H-have a safe trip home, Shirogane-san." He said with shy smile and a wave.

Naoto nodded, heading off. Soon he disappeared beyond the wall surrounding Tsuna's house.

"He's peculiar," said a voice next to Tsuna's leg.

"Hiiiiiieee!" He screeched, accidentally slamming the door hard on his face before leaning forward and shutting it with his body weight. "R-Reborn..." Tsuna stuttered in a funny voice, leaning his weight against the wall as he rubbed his nose. He faced the baby. "Were you here the whole time?"

"Yes." The baby started making his way to the living room, the brunette following afterward. Reborn seemed to be intrigued by the young detective, looking thoughtful. "By the way. You're a terrible liar, dame-Tsuna."

"Well, gosh, sorry." He said sarcastically, collapsing on the couch. "Geez... what are we going to do? A detective came to my house looking for Mukuro! There is no way he's going to be safe here."

"He seemed to believe what you said about your little brother being scared of Mukuro though." Chrome said, sitting down next to him. "Boss, are you okay? Do you need some ice?"

"Yeah, that would be good..." Tsuna muttered. Chrome got up and made her way to the kitchen.

"He seems worthy."

Tsuna looked up to see Mukuro on the steps, silently making his way downstairs. "Worthy?"

"Yes," A smirk crawled onto the older man's face. "It looks like this one might be able to help."

Tsuna tilted his head. "Help? How so?"

"He's young and vulnerable. If anything, I can even possess him and make him convince the station to let me off the hook. But he also looks very intelligent, and perhaps he will be able to find the real culprit of the murder."

"Do. Not. Possess. Him." Tsuna said firmly as Chrome returned with an ice pack. He pressed it against his nose.

"Mukuro-sama, should you be out here?" Chrome asked in a worried tone. "What if the detective comes back and sees you?"

"I saw him leave. Worry not, my cute Chrome." Chrome smiled and let out a breath of relief. Tsuna shuddered at the nickname. He still found it incredibly creepy.

"So, what do you intend to do about it, Mukuro?" Reborn asked curiously, if not a little mischievously.

"Kufufu..." Mukuro put a finger to his chin in thought. "You," He fixed his eyes on Tsuna, who flinched, "Help him with his investigation, he might prove useful. However, don't reveal where I am just yet."

"Who are you to give me orders..." Tsuna muttered, though nodded nonetheless.

Mukuro laughed. "We'll just have to see what happens from here."


	4. The Evidence is Wrong

**A/N:** Hey everyone! This is AmyFawkes speaking. I'm just here to tell you that STRANGERS will be updating less frequently now. Instead of weekly, it'll most likely be bi-weekly or monthly. School is coming up in a couple of days and it's certainly going to occupy our times much more. Also I have to admit that I am a lazy butt and I'm much more slow at writing than Jedexa is, so my apologies. /bows/

Also, to **Rukito Suzuki**, no there will not be any fighting, and not anytime soon. Keep in mind that this fanfiction is a murder mystery case! It is still only in its beginning phase, the exposition, and so nothing major involving fights will happen soon. Also, I do not intend on revealing that fact/spoiler. The Persona part of this crossover is more of Jedexa's expertise and it is up to her if she wants to reveal that, but for now Naoto will remain the way he is written.

Anyway, I sure hope that you all are enjoying the story! Please continue to stick with us! =D Thank you for the support you have shown us thus far! c:

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**chapter four: THE EVIDENCE IS WRONG**

Going over the reports was fruitless. Naoto had practically memorized it by now, and the officers that wrote them had not been very thorough. Actually, most of the police officers in Kokuyou were underqualified, and even Namimori's police force seemed to be comprised of incompetent fools. The case was going cold too quickly now, even after Naoto had interviewed other people in Namimori who might have known where Rokudo could be—a bleach-haired punk, a baseball player, a boxing club captain, a strangely violent member of the disciplinary committee...

All of them, oddly enough, had said things similar to Sawada and Dokuro: Rokudo was completely capable of murder, but he had not committed the Estraneo one. The bleach-haired punk, whom reminded Naoto of one of his friends in Inaba, and the disciplinary guy especially seemed to have a grudge against Rokudo, but even they said Rokudo wouldn't be so flashy about a murder, even if he was a little flamboyant.

As Naoto sat back at his desk, rubbing his chin in thought, he began to wonder if maybe they were right. If even people who hated Rokudo said that he didn't do it, there had to be merit to their claims... And all the evidence pointing to Rokudo was, to Naoto, not all that hard. From the very beginning, he had felt that it seemed too obvious—and if he had learned anything from Inaba, it was that the obvious answer was sometimes not the right answer.

He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply through his nose, and cleared his mind. He had to look at this from another standpoint, if he was going to solve it. In Inaba, he had learned to grasp the truth in his own hands without being deceived—he had to do this now, too.

Perhaps the solution to the case did not lie with the culprit. Perhaps it lay with the victim?

Ambrogio di Estraneo. He was an older man in his fifties, and like Rokudo, he was Italian. He was a scientist for a small company in his early years, but the company shut down about ten years ago when their lab was caught in an explosion. The report said that it was a lab experiment gone wrong, but Naoto had to wonder what kind of lab experiment would result in something so catastrophic. Why was the report was so vague...? Actually, everything about the company was reported only in vague snippets. And they never reported any great findings—what were they researching?

Beside the point. Estraneo was the last member of that company, retired for ten years and living a quiet life in Italy. Only recently had he moved to Japan.

Naoto wondered, then, how a quiet old man could be considered a hated bastard by that trio of delinquents. How were they related? How did they know each other? Did Estraneo hate that trio too?

And... if they had hated each other, somehow, for any reason... maybe Estraneo had purposely gone to Kokuyou Land two months ago? Perhaps he had some unfinished business with the young man. That would certainly explain his presence there, since it was quite a mystery as to why he was there in the first place. The police and students said that Rokudo had called him there and killed him there... but that didn't seem right either.

Rokudo's friends had said, after all, that they didn't know this man was even alive. Naoto trusted their word on this—he knew that he would feel it in his gut if they were lying. They had been too emotionally charged for that outburst to be a lie.

He considered what Dokuro had said—Rokudo was being framed. Alright, if he was, who could have hated him enough to frame him for murder? Naoto was quite sure the list was long, so that didn't make it easier. However, it _was_ starting to sound like an entirely real possibility. Sure, Rokudo was far from innocent, but in this one case, he was probably telling the truth. And if Sawada was correct, then it seemed he was at least making an effort to change his ways—this, Naoto knew, was not the behavior of a true murderer.

More and more did it seem like Mukuro Rokudo was not Estraneo's murderer. If that was the case, who was it? And how could Naoto _prove_ it?

Perhaps Rokudo's friends could help him.

Naoto jumped as his cell phone rung, breaking him from his ruminations. He took it out—he didn't recognize the number glaring at him from the caller ID, but he answered.

"Shirogane speaking."

"_U-um... Shirogane-san? This is Tsuna... er, Tsunayoshi Sawada."_

"Ah, just the person I wanted to speak with."

"_Hieee? M-me?"_ Tsuna sounded shocked, "_Um, am I in trouble?"_

"No, not at all," Naoto smiled to himself, "But, as you've called me, please, go first. What did you need? Did you hear from Rokudo?"

"_Um, no... but..."_ Tsuna sounded hesitant, "_I just... wanted to know if I could help you out, somehow. Like, uh, if you need to know about anyone else? I mean, I know a lot of people who know Mukuro, and..."_

He was talking too quickly, like he was nervous... but what an odd offer.

"You wanted to provide me access to more people who could help prove your case that Rokudo is innocent, correct?" Naoto mused, "I was actually thinking of asking you about that. That would be helpful."

"_E-eh? Really?"_ Tsuna squeaked. His voice was a mixture of relief, confusion, and excitement. "_Uh, no problem?"_

"Actually... your little brother would be a good place to start. You said he was scared of Rokudo, yes? I would like to hear his take on this case." Naoto said.

"_Um. Fuuta? Err... I haven't... told him about the murder...?"_ Tsuna sounded unsure, and Naoto was certain that he was lying. "_I mean, he's a kid, I'm trying to keep him out of this stuff."_

"But he knows Rokudo." Naoto replied flatly, "Maybe you can answer me then. How did he meet Rokudo? Why is he scared of him?"

"_...Mukuro... uh... kidnapped him. Once. It didn't happen again, and he came back safe and sound, so it was okay!"_ Tsuna said quickly. There was a voice in the background—it sounded young, and kind of high-pitched. There was a muffled sound on the other side as Tsuna tried to shoo the person away.

"Is that your little brother? May I speak with him?" Naoto tried, "I promise I'll try to keep the details to a minimum."

"_E-eeeh?" _He let out a resigned sigh. "_Uh—hey, Fuuta, do you want to talk to the detective?"_ Tsuna's voice was distant as he was turned away from the phone. After a moment, a small voice spoke into the receiver.

"_H-hello. This is Fuuta."_

"Hello, Fuuta-san," Naoto said as gently as he could, "I am Detective Naoto Shirogane."

"_I know. You're ranked number one in—_" He was cut off by Tsuna's voice in the background, and when he spoke again, he didn't continue his previous sentence. Naoto wondered if the young boy had heard of him before. "_Um, sorry... w-what did you want to talk to me about, Mr. Detective?"_

"I would like to know what you think of Mukuro Rokudo." Naoto said carefully.

There was a long silence on the other side. And then, "_Why? Is this about that murder in Kokuyou?"_

Naoto was surprised. Tsuna had said he didn't tell Fuuta about it. Then again, Fuuta could have found out on his own.

"Yes... did you hear about it from the news?"

Fuuta didn't answer him. "_M-Mukuro... didn't do it. The stars said he didn't." _His voice was quiet, almost like a whisper, and fear was audible in the way that his voice quivered. The stars? "_Um, I—I'm gonna go watch TV now. Here, Tsuna-nii!"_

"_Okay."_ The older boy's voice was gentle and a little bit comforting, and quick footsteps quieted as they got further away. Tsuna's voice came back on the phone, "_Um, sorry, Fuuta's... kinda weird, to most people. But he's just a little nervous... I mean, Mukuro's not exactly someone he likes to talk about."_

"I understand." Naoto replied, deciding not to ask about the strange things Fuuta said. "I suppose that is the best I will get out of him. Perhaps I can do better another time, but that will do for now."

"_Um, no problem?"_

"Sawada-san, if it's alright, can I stop by tomorrow afternoon?" Naoto asked suddenly.

"_Eh? Uh..."_ Tsuna sounded hesitant, "_Um, how about later in the afternoon? I'm sort of busy. I-I have to go to school, and stuff."_ He was probably lying. Naoto didn't comment. "_If you wanna talk to Fuuta again, though..."_

"Actually, you said you could help me find people who could verify Rokudo's character. If it isn't too much trouble, can you compile a list for me? I'd like to come by and pick it up tomorrow." Naoto explained.

"_Oh. Um. Yeah. I can do that. I think."_ Tsuna agreed, "_Are you... I mean, is he still a suspect?"_

"Yes, he is... however, as I said before, I would like to believe in his innocence," Naoto confirmed, "Something just doesn't seem right. So I will do everything in my power to help your... friend."

Tsuna sounded like he was cringing when he said, "_Okay. Thanks."_

"I will see you tomorrow, Sawada-san. Good evening."

"_Yeah, bye."_

Naoto hung up, leaning back in his chair. He looked up at the clock—it was getting late. He decided to gather his things and leave the station. As he walked outside, heading toward the place he was staying at, he looked up at the sky, noting the large cumulus clouds that were gathering for miles and miles on end.

"Hm. Seems like it will rain tonight."

He decided to get back quickly, before the rain started.


End file.
